The Jade Tablet's Mystery, the Blood Demon's Conspiracy

At this moment, Li Qing was examining a file.

This file was a summary of the Secretariat Office incident.

It appeared that Official Li of the Secretariat Office had been investigating a case at the time, a case involving smuggling.

There were prominent figures from the capital behind it, and the investigation had encountered many twists and turns.

The day before the incident, it seemed they had seized something.

But that very night, his entire family was wiped out, and in the end, the case remained unresolved.

The dossier only contained a cryptic speculation that it was highly likely related to a prominent figure in the capital.

Someone did not want him to live.

Just then, Li Qing's expression suddenly changed.

Strange information appeared on the Jade Tablet.

Secretariat Office Extermination Case...

South City Refugee Corpse Burial Case...

South City Siege of the Blood Demon Sect Case...

Water Transport Smuggling Case...

Blood Demon Sect Conspiracy Event (Truth)...

A dozen or so cases emerged all at once, but the word "Truth" captured his entire attention.

He read the content on the stone tablet carefully and immediately discovered something hair-raising.

"The Blood Demon Sect is using the Water Transport to smuggle rebels and weaponry into Jade City."

"This matter was discovered by Official Li of the Secretariat Office."

"Young Master Blood Spirit, a true disciple of the Blood Demon Sect, visited under the guise of being a fellow student of Official Li and secretly slaughtered Official Li's entire family."

"After Official Li's death, Prefect Fang Qingyu was put in charge of overseeing the Water Transport."

"Because Li Qing resolved the Ghost Cry Incident at the Secretariat Office, traces of the Blood Demon Sect were discovered."

"The upper echelons of Jade City became immediately alert, and Commander-in-Chief Wang Jie of the Garrison was tasked with monitoring the entire Water Transport to prevent further issues."

"The riot at the Refugee Camp in the south of the city was secretly orchestrated by the Blood Demon Sect to test the defensive strength of Jade City and create an atmosphere of tension."

"However, during the process, Blood Demon Sect disciples extracted the blood essence from the corpses, which was discovered and reported by Li Qing during the burial process."

"Wen Taiquan, an inside agent for the Blood Demon Sect, quietly reported this to the true disciple of the Blood Demon Sect and played along with the ruse, sacrificing three outer disciples to allow their second pawn to seize greater power."

"Commander-in-Chief Wang Jie has completely taken over the Refugee Camp, the Water Transport Wharf, and the city gate guards."

"Commander-in-Chief Wang Jie of the Garrison is a sleeper agent for the Blood Demon Sect, with the goal of assisting the Blood Demon Sect in breaching Jade City."

"They are preparing for an invasion by the Northern Barbarians of the Northern Desert."

The information ended there.

Li Qing's scalp tingled, and he nearly jumped up.

He had not expected that by simply reading a dossier, the Jade Tablet would deduce the truth.

His expression was incredibly complex, and he was lost in thought.

It seems the Jade Tablet is something capable of deduction and optimization. As long as there is sufficient information, the facade of all things will be stripped away to reveal the truth within.

The so-called optimization might just be conducting more rational deductions, deducing the truth of information—a truth unadulterated by any errors.

Could it be that original cultivation was meant to be without any cost?

Is it that human deduction, understanding, and comprehension went astray, ultimately resulting in these flawed cultivation methods?

Many thoughts raced through his mind. Including the Essence Stone, it seems it also reduces essence to its most fundamental state, stripping away all non-essential impurities.

Perhaps the true function of this Jade Tablet of mine is to reduce everything to its original essence.

The so-called refining of essence, optimizing of techniques, and distilling of truth are all just reductions to the essence.

Li Qing seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of his golden finger.

He took a deep breath, a look of contemplation appearing in his eyes.

"So, what should I do next?"

"If this matter is handled well, I estimate I could obtain immense merit."

"If it is handled poorly, I fear I will become cannon fodder."

"The Commander-in-Chief is a fourth-rank official, on equal footing with the Prefect and the Commander of the Demon Extermination Hall."

"If I get dragged into this, I might not meet a good end."

Thinking of this, a look of gravity immediately appeared in his eyes.

"Now, the first step of my Humanity's Overview Technique is complete."

"The waters here run deep; I must finish refining this layer first."

Over the past half-month, he had collected quite a few things, especially the materials for the nine types of metals, nine types of water sources, nine types of spirit jades, and nine types of fire.

He had spent silver to acquire all four of these categories from the outside world.

Now, he was only missing four types of century-old spirit herbs, but such herbs were not cheap; they were worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and one needed the right connections to obtain them.

There was no second Wang Kuohai to help him now.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but knit his brows, his right hand tapping the table involuntarily.

Tap, tap, tap.

Elder Huang, sitting to the side, watched him frown and smiled as he spoke.

"Have you run into some trouble? Why not tell me about it?"

Taking a deep breath, Li Qing turned his gaze toward Elder Huang.

"I want to find four different types of century-old spirit herbs. I wonder if there is a shortcut?"

Elder Huang furrowed his brow. "Century-old spirit herbs aren't exactly rare, but given your status, they won't be easy to obtain."

"The market price outside is at least eight thousand taels of silver per stalk."

"For four stalks, that's at least thirty-two thousand taels of silver."

"If you can come up with that money, I might be able to pull some strings for you."

Li Qing took a deep breath, his brows tightly locked as a hint of contemplation appeared in his eyes.

After a long while, he looked at Elder Huang and said, "I have already uncovered the truth of the matter."

"But this affair has far-reaching implications."

"If I speak of it, I fear I won't live much longer."

Elder Huang's expression turned solemn. "What is it you want?"

"I want to ensure my safety, but I find it hard to trust anyone else."

"Only one's own strength can truly protect oneself."

"I can report the truth of the matter, but the price is four different century-old spirit herbs."

"I need to cultivate a life-saving technique."

Li Qing looked at Elder Huang bluntly, his expression grave.

Elder Huang watched Li Qing, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop as he took a deep breath.

"I can speak to the higher-ups about this for you."

"If they agree, someone will likely come to find you."

"Good!"

Li Qing nodded.

The reason he proposed this exchange was that the Demon Extermination Hall was a place that valued rules.

During this time, he had read at least a hundred different case files, and he had vaguely discovered a characteristic within them.

The Demon Extermination Hall was very particular about rules when it came to its Demon Extermination Captains.

Even if you died in battle, not a single cent of the compensation owed to you would be withheld.

If a mission failed, not a single bit of the deserved punishment would be spared.

Everything revolved around two words—the rules.

"A Demon Extermination Captain of the Demon Extermination Hall is, after all, no ordinary person. Once driven to a desperate situation, they all possess the means of Rule-Breaking Alienation."

"Once they break the rules, their power will grow wildly, eventually turning them into an Anomaly."

"As long as there is still an obsession in their heart, even after transforming into an Anomaly, they retain the ability to take revenge."

"Therefore, even the Demon Extermination Hall dares not arbitrarily withhold pay or act unfairly toward a Demon Extermination Captain."

"Every Demon Extermination Captain can be described as a ticking time bomb."